Confidentiality Violation Draws Suspension

The Colorado Presiding Disciplinary Judge has accepted an agreed disposition and imposed an eighteen-month suspension with all but nine months stayed and probation for two years for a breach of confidentiality in the representation of a criminal defendant:

Respondent and his co-counsel represented a client charged with multiple felony counts for stealing $1.2 million from her employer. During two in camera conferences held without their client present, Respondent and his co-counsel made statements to the prosecutor and the judge related to their disagreement with their client’s decision to reject a plea offer and other statements to  preserve their own interests and in-turn, failed to maintain the confidences of their client.

(Mike Frisch)